This happened around 2024. I recently came across this clinic again on Google Maps and realized I had forgotten to leave a review /:
I was driving through Opelousas when I saw a car hit a cat right in front of me. The heartless driver didn't even stop. The cat was still alive and conscious, but bleeding. I picked him up and immediately searched for the nearest veterinary clinic that could help.
I called Bellevue and explained that a cat had just been hit by a car and needed emergency help. What shocked me was that the first thing they talked about wasn't his condition. I was told that someone would have to be financially responsible for the bill.
Seriously? I had a bleeding animal in my arms, and the first concern was who was going to pay?
This wasn't even my cat. I was simply a person who witnessed an animal get hit and couldn't leave him dying on the side of the road.
I brought him to the clinic anyway. They examined him and told me treatment/surgery would cost around $2,500. I explained again that I wasn't the owner — I was just a Good Samaritan who had picked up an injured animal.
I understand veterinary medicine isn't free. Surgeons have years of training, employees need to be paid, and surgery requires anesthesia, medications, equipment, supplies, and professional expertise. But I still can't understand why this couldn't have been the ONE situation where they made an exception and donated some of their time and resources to try to save a life. Do you use space materials for surgeries?
I dont think that people bring critically injured stray cats hit by cars through their doors every day. Why not say, just once, "Let's try to save him"?
I don't know their internal costs, but I find it difficult to believe that the entire $2,500 represented irreplaceable materials. They weren't putting gold or platinum into this cat. The most valuable things they could have donated that day were their time, expertise, and compassion.
And imagine what that could have meant for the clinic. I would have happily made a video, shared the story, thanked them publicly, and told everyone about the veterinary team that stepped up to save a dying stray. That act of compassion could have brought them goodwill, reputation, community support, and probably far more than $2,500 in future business.
Instead, this is the review I'm writing.
At the time, I had just paid my bills and had only about $200 available. They offered financing, and I immediately applied, but I wasn't approved despite having good credit.
Since I couldn't pay thousands of dollars, I was told euthanasia was basically the remaining option. I agreed because I didn't want the poor cat to continue suffering.
Then, if I remember correctly, I was charged around $165 for the euthanasia.
Thankfully, a kind woman who was there — I believe she was a nurse — saw what was happening and offered to pay. I didn't want her covering everything, so we split the bill.
That stranger showed more compassion in that moment than I felt from the clinic.
I wasn't an irresponsible owner refusing to pay for my pet. I had no responsibility for this cat at all. I could have driven away like the person who hit him. Instead, I stopped, picked up a bleeding animal, searched for help, drove him to a clinic, tried to get financing, and spent what little money I had trying to give him a chance.
All I wanted was for someone else to care about his life as much as I did in that moment.
Based on my personal experience, I cannot recommend this clinic. I understand that a veterinary clinic is a business, but sometimes compassion means making an exception.
Two years later, what I remember most isn't an attempt to find another solution. It's a price tag attached to whether an injured animal would get a chance to live.
Remember, that cat could be alive now,but he is not(or she)
